No matter how long you’ve been in business or how many contracts you’ve signed, every business owner has gone through a dry patch where it seems like, no matter what, you can’t attract new clients. Whether you’re in that spot today, or you’ve been through it in the past, I want to help you move forward. Consider this your “Oh Crap” playbook.
There are three common reasons the new business river stops flowing. You have:
If you haven’t revisited the process of honing your ideal client (or it’s been a while), you may not know your audience very well. Markets shift and evolve. There are problems today that didn’t exist six months ago. So it’s important to stay up to date with what your ideal clients are going through and how you can best support them.
Often, renewed audience insights will adjust messaging and marketing to ensure you are more relatable or helpful. That’s a great thing. It helps you stand out from everyone else stuck in the same ways with the same messaging they created three years ago.
Get clear on their activities: where they shop and hang out, what they read, what online communities they belong to—and get yourself in those spaces. When you show up where they’re already looking for information or ready to form genuine relationships, you can create meaningful connections. That doesn’t mean everyone you meet or develop a relationship with will become a client, but by placing yourself in situations where you’re consistently networking with ideal clients, you will naturally increase sales opportunities.
Another way to get reacquainted with your ideal clients is to look at your favorite clients and consider the commonalities. Are there similarities in their careers, industries, activities, or interests? Are they in a similar stage of life? What common problems, fears, and dreams do they share? Once you have that information, identify and frequent the places where you can meet more people like them.
If you’ve fallen into the common sales traps of number two or three, where you’ve either stopped lead generating activities or stopped asking for the sale, the solutions are much simpler. Revisit and start those processes again. Create a system that will keep them consistently up and running.
Being present is a huge part of sales success. If you’re not paying attention to your prospects, showing up consistently, or staying in the moment, you can create a sales drought.
The first part of being present is mental and emotional. Keep your focus and attention on one person or one moment. If you can stay in the moment, you can stop yourself from catastrophizing the future or dwelling in the past. That one skill can make all of the difference in your sales conversations.
Next, master the art of clearly hearing and seeing the person you’re speaking to. This gives you the ability to hear the nuances in their voice and pick up subtle information you might otherwise miss. This will help you make the right offer, at the right time, to close the sale.
If your mind is elsewhere, you’ll skip right past the most important parts of the conversation. And your prospect will take notice. The last thing you want is for someone to feel like you don’t care.
Once you identify ideal clients you want to do business with, make yourself present in their world. For starters you can:
When you make a sale, what happens next? Do you fulfill the sale and then move on? Or do you stay in touch, building relationships further? It’s important to grow the relationships you’ve established with previous clients. This is a great way to stay top of mind for referrals and networking.
When you find yourself in a sales desert, reach out to the clients you’ve worked with and ask for introductions to people they feel could benefit from your services. When you maintain strong relationships with clients, they’re happy to help and bring more prospects to your door. These referrals can help you bridge the gap while you restart lead generating activities.
To spice things up, create a virtual event specifically for current and past clients designed to deliver extra value. Give them an extra ticket to invite a friend. This will allow you to overdeliver for your clients while creating relationships with new high-quality prospects who see you clearly as the advisor who can support them.
There will be times when it seems like nothing is working, and you will want to pull your hair out. Fight the urge, take a breath, and read this again.
Erin Addesso is a best-selling author, success coach, and sales consultant, working with business owners, companies, and corporations to develop a powerful presence, resulting in higher closing rates, more referrals, and increased profits, using the Hustle Playbook Method™. Erin’s work is trusted by brands such as Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation, Loan Depot, MegaStar Financial Corporation, Coldwell Banker, and more. She uses her over 20 years of experience in leadership, sales, and cutting edge marketing techniques, to create more automated streams of income, develop a growing pipeline of highly qualified leads, and attract top-notch clientele, so you can increase your profitability and reach while actually having days off and not being attached to your phone 24/7. Erin’s work has also been featured in publications and media outlets such as The Scotsman Guide.
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